Suzaku's Calling~
by Purple Fox
Summary: It has been 20 years since Miaka last saw anyone from the Universe of the Four Gods. What would happen if her daughter inherited both Miko and Seishi power, and all of the book's world was toppled out of balance? Will she be able to endure the hardships a


Author's Note: Hi, minna-san! This is my first fanfic story, so I'd love any reviews and/or comments. If you have any suggestions at all, please feel free to email me at purple_fox@sailormoon.com. The rating is PG-13 for swearing in later chapters.  
  
I'd also like to thank ~Sei~ for helping me edit and revise this story. Thankie!  
  
  
Here are some meanings for the symbols in the story:  
  
~Name~ - someone's point of view  
  
********** - separates one scene from another (story is being told and is not from anyone's viewpoint)  
  
"..." - spoken  
  
- thoughts  
  
  
Disclaimers: I do not own any Fushigi Yuugi characters or storylines. The only things I own are the characters I've made up for this story.  
  
  
  
Chapter One:  
  
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Hoshiko Sukunami slowly climbed up the steps leading to her front door.  
  
  
  
Opening the door with her key, Hoshiko stepped inside, surprised to see her mother, Miaka, standing in the hallway waiting for her.  
  
"Mom! What are you doing home? I thought you and Dad were going to be at work today!" Hoshiko's parents, Taka and Miaka, owned their own Chinese antiques shop a few blocks away.  
  
"Honey! You actually thought your father and I would go to work on your birthday? You're turning sixteen! My little girl's growing up!" Miaka was absolutely beaming. At 37 years old, Miaka had a youthful look to her, still tying her brown hair into two buns.  
  
Hoshiko smiled. "Thanks, Mom."  
  
"Well, what are you waiting for? Come into the kitchen. Your father's got a surprise for you."  
  
They walked into the kitchen where Taka was busy getting the cake ready. He looked up, saying, "Welcome home! Ryu should be here in about an hour. I told him to come now, but you know how he is with time. The University's just around the corner, but he always seems to take his time with everything."  
  
Hoshiko laughed at her father. However, what he said about her older brother was true. Ryu really didn't have a sense of time management. In looks, Hoshiko resembled her father, with dark blue hair and a tall build. She had her mother's green eyes. Ryu was 18 and a freshman at college. He inherited Miaka's brown hair and Taka's violet eyes.  
  
Miaka's eyes lit up. "You know, Ryu is going to take forever, and he'll get mad if we eat before he comes, so why don't we start with the presents." Taka was surprised that Miaka was being so thoughtful, especially since there was food involved until he saw her sneakily reaching for the cake.  
  
"Miaka!"  
  
"Oh, sorry. I was really hungry." She said sheepishly. "Here's your present, sweetheart."  
  
She handed Hoshiko a small box with gold wrapping and a red ribbon around it.  
  
Opening the box, Hoshiko found that it was a gold ring with a red stone embedded in it. She put it on her right ring finger.  
  
"Thanks, Mom. Isn't this the mate to Ryu's ring?" Ryu had received a ring similar to hers on his sixteenth birthday as well.  
  
"Yup. These rings hold special meaning for us, and your father and I decided to give them to you on your sixteenth birthdays."  
  
"Oh yeah. I remember that story you told us when we were kids. I used to love hearing that every night before we went to bed. Ryu kinda got sick of it, but I always loved that fairy tale about the book."  
  
Miaka looked at Taka. "Um...honey, I told you that story really did happen to us, right?"  
  
Hoshiko looked puzzled, then laughed. "Sure, Mom. You were the heroine in the Universe of the Four Gods, right?" She couldn't read the look exchanged between her parents, but decided not to dwell on the fact.   
  
For as long as she could remember, Hoshiko and Ryu had "birthmarks" that looked like kanji on their bodies. Hoshiko had always assumed that it was hereditary, and that her parents made up the fairy tales to make them feel better about having the strange symbols.  
  
"...And your Aunt Yui would love to see you!" Hoshiko realized she had been drifting off again, and listened to her mother.  
  
"Aunt Yui?" Yui had been Miaka's friend since kindergarten, and continued to be her best friend even after Hoshiko was born. She lived about an hour away.  
  
"Yes! I've already packed for you." Miaka handed her daughter a backpack. "I know this is kind of spur of the moment, but we figured since your birthday is the day right before vacation, why not visit Yui!"  
  
"Cool! I'd love to see Aunt Yui." Suddenly, Hoshiko remembered a promise she had made to Yui years ago.  
  
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~Flashback~  
  
"Happy birthday, Hoshiko!" Aunt Yui gave her a tiny plant just beginning to sprout. "I know you'll take care of this and it'll bloom into a beautiful flower!"  
  
Hoshiko looked at it skeptically. "I don't know, Aunt Yui..." At six years old, Hoshiko wasn't particularly fond of caring for plants.  
  
Yui smiled. "Of course it will! You just have to water it and make sure it gets enough sunshine." "This kind of flower is actually a type of miniature tree. I had one myself when I was growing up, and it lasted just about forever!" She laughed. "Let's say after ten years, you bring it back to me and we'll see how it turns out."  
  
Hoshiko's eyes grew wider. "Ten YEARS! That's a long time, Aunt Yui!"  
  
Yui laughed. "It'll be ten years before you know it!"  
  
~end flashback~  
  
"Um...Mom, I gotta go get something from the attic."  
  
Miaka looked perplexed. "Sure, honey, but what do you have to get from up there?"  
  
"Oh, just something Aunt Yui gave me a while ago." Hoshiko ran up the stairs to the dim attic, bringing her backpack with her. The floorboards creaked from old age, and there was no light except for the stream of sunshine shining through the window in front of her. On the windowsill was a full-blossomed plant with many deep red-gold flower petals.   
  
  
  
At that moment, an unknown source of heat started seeping into the room.  
  
Reaching for the flower, Hoshiko saw a vision of a scarlet bird flashing before her eyes. "Wh-What?!" She said, as she tripped over an object on the floor.  
  
she thought wryly. It was a book. A book with a red cover and the title, The Universe of the Four Gods. "Huh?! You must be joking!" Opening the book, she began to read.  
  
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Miaka wondered what took Hoshiko so long. "Hoshiko! You ready yet? We have to be at Yui's by five!" Concerned, she walked up the steps.  
  
"Hoshiko?"  
  
At the sound of her mother's voice, Hoshiko started turning around. A sudden bright red light enveloped her, shooting straight from the book itself.  
  
"Mom! Help...MOM!"  
  
Miaka opened the door. "Oh, God, no! Hoshiko!" Reaching towards her, Miaka was helpless to grasp her daughter's now transparent hand.  
  
Hoshiko was gone. All that was left was the book on the floor.  
  
"TAKA!!" Miaka screamed as the last petals on the red-gold flower dropped to the ground.  
  
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Author's Note: Well, that's the end of chapter one! There isn't really a plant (that I know of) that would last for ten years and still blossom, but I thought that it would add a little something extra to the story. Thanks for reading, and please review!! 


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